The whole point of rugby is that it is, first and foremost, a state of mind, a spirit. He won 41 caps for his country and his 12 consecutive Test starts for the Lions remains a record for a prop forward.Price had a fearsome reputation as a thinking scrummager but was also ahead of his time with his mobility, scoring a stunning try against France in Paris during his debut in 1975 after sprinting 80m in support of winger JJ Williams before scooping up the ball and plunging over the line.The French tight-head is regarded as one of the greatest prop forwards in history, being capped 55 times, five of them as captain.Paparemborde, who died at the age of 52 from pancreatic cancer, hailed from the Basque Country, was a superb technician at the scrum and was able to take it down so low the opposition hooker was only able to use his head in an attempt to strike the ball.A black belt in judo, he was a key figure in three Five Nations titles (1977, 1981 and 1983), two with Grand Slams, and played in an era where boots, punches and other acts of skullduggery were par for the course.Paparemborde and Gérard Cholley, a former heavyweight boxer who laid out four Scotland players in a match, had a fearsome reputation but there was far more to the former’s game.“Along with Graham Price he was undoubtedly the greatest tight-head prop of the modern era. As 126-cap Jenkins prepares for his testimonial season with Cardiff Blues, Andy Howell ranks the best...so let the debate begin!Get the latest Welsh rugby news sent straight to your inboxAnd the subject led to a lengthy debate in the Media Wales office over who would join him in a top 10 list of props.We did the research, sought advice from experts and this is the list he drew up.
Here’s Andy’s top 10 of the modern era...The hair-bear prop started his international career as the 30-minute man back in 2003, then Wales coach Steve Hansen declaring he wasn’t fit enough to last any longer.But the Neath product knuckled down and was to have an illustrious career when, after the injury enforced demise of Chris Horsman, he had little competition for the Wales No.3 jersey.Jones and his sparring partner Gethin Jenkins have each pocketed an astonishing four Six Nations titles, three with Grand Slams.But Jones, who is still playing for Aviva Premiership club Harlequins, has one over his pal because he packed down for the Lions during their 2013 conquest of Australia.The former Ospreys star retired from international rugby in the wake of being ditched by Wales coach Warren Gatland in South Africa in 2014, dashing his dream of appearing 100 times for his country.Allegedly became the best paid rugby union player in the world after joining Newcastle Falcons on a contract reportedly worth £350,000 in 2007.Hayman was capped 45 times by New Zealand but would have had many more had he not opted to head overseas.Unusually tall for a tight-head prop, at 6ft 4in, the former Otago and Highlanders powerhouse became the 1000th All Black when he made his debut against Samoa in 2001.His career ended on a high last year with another Champions Cup prize with Toulon, where he also gained French Top 14 titles.A legendary Lion, the man from Ballymena in Northern Ireland, made his Irish debut in 1958.He began his Lions Test career in New Zealand the following year, was ever-present in 1962 and was back in South Africa six years later for his third tour.Until Graham Price came on the scene, he held the Lions record for the most successive Test appearances in a row for a prop.Millar went on to coach the invincible Lions to glory in South Africa in 1974 and was tour manager in 1980.The England and Sale prop was a granite-faced forward who featured in one of rugby’s iconic images when he was pictured caked in mud during the 1977 Lions tour of New Zealand, his eye-balls peering menacingly through and otherwise dirt-smeared face.Cotton packed down for the best of British and Irish rugby during their 1974 humiliation of the Springboks and appeared in a total of seven Tests.He went to New Zealand with them in 1977 and the pack they assembled was rated as stronger by many than that which had gone to South Africa, but they didn’t have the star-studded backs on 1974 to capitalise on their prowess up-front.Os du Randt may have won two World Cup with South Africa, in 1995 and 2007, but it’s this Stellenbosh product who is regarded by many as the greatest Springbok prop in history.He was a back-row forward before being converted to the front-row by the legendary Danie Craven and made his Test debut against Australia in 1963.Marais captained South Africa in 1971 and made the last of his 35 appearances against France in 1974.He was a Springbok selector when they lifted the 1995 World Cup with an extra-time victory over favourites New Zealand in Johannesburg.Wales’ most capped player with 126 appearances, he would probably hold the world record if it wasn’t for a recurring calf problem which has sidelined him on numerous occasions.The loose-head prop has also been on three Lions tours, starting all three Tests in New Zealand in 2005 and packing down in two in South Africa four years later before fracturing a cheekbone.Injury sent him home before the Lions Test series with Australia in 2013 and he nearly missed Wales’ charge to the semi-finals of the 2011 World Cup through more calf problems.Aged 35, the Pontypridd product, who has also played for Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Toulon, is still going strong and regained the No.1 jersey in New Zealand last month.He has won an unprecedented four Six Nations titles, three of them with Grand Slams, and lifted the European Cup with Toulon and the second-tier Challenge Cup with the Blues.Jenkins possesses a fantastic engine and his primary strengths are his speed around the pitch, foraging at the breakdown and his tackling prowess.Capped 43 times by Scotland between 1969-79, loose-head prop ‘Mighty Mouse’ became famous for his exploits with the Lions.He went to New Zealand with them in 1971 expecting to be a dirt-tracker in the midweek team but stepped up to the plate after fellow Scot Sandy Carmichael suffered damage to a cheekbone after being punched in a ferocious clash with Canterbury.McLauchlan appeared in every Test against the All Blacks and during the 1974 tour of South Africa, only being on the losing side once as the Lions made history by winning back-to-back series.He captained Scotland and insisted on leading them into battle against Ireland despite having cracked a bone in a leg two weeks earlier.Richie McCaw and Colin Meads are revered by many as the greatest All Blacks in history but there are those in New Zealand who put ‘Hoodeyes’ in the same bracket.They reckon Gray’s ability and contribution meant he gave ‘Pinetree’ Meads a run for his money over the period they were the rocks of the All Black pack.“He was the equal, at least, of Meads.
“Rugby backs can be identified because they generally have clean jerseys and identifiable partings in their hair… come the revolution the backs will be the first to be lined up against the wall and shot for living parasitically off the work of others.” Ourexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. French rugby union biography stubs (501 P) Pages in category "French rugby union players" The following 200 pages are in this category, out of approximately 740 total. Instead of 15 players on a team, as is the case in union, rugby league is 13-a-side and in place of rucks and mauls, the game has play-the-ball restarts. I don't like kicking the ball a lot. He and Pinetree were two of the toughest guys around at the time,” said his All Blacks front-row team-mate Waka Nathan.A member of the feared Pontypool front-row known as the Viet Gwent, alongside hooker Bobby Windsor and loose head Charlie Faulkner, and all three played during one of Wales’ most successful eras.But it was Price who was the bedrock of the great Welsh pack of the 1970s.
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